This invention relates to a single-hung door hinge assembly and more particularly to a door hinge assembly having a pair of mating spherical surfaces for allowing variance in alignment of the hinge straps.
It is known to have a hinge assembly to support a door on a body structure of a vehicle which allows the door to pivot in relation to the body structure. The hinge assembly consists of a pair of hinge straps with an interconnecting hinge pin. It is known to use a single hung door hinge, where one of the hinge straps is positioned above the other hinge and connected by the interconnect hinge pin whereby the hinge straps do not intermesh.
It is also known to use two separate single hung hinge assemblies to attach the vehicle door to the body structure and mount the hinge assemblies in the same direction with the movable hinge strap, which is mounted to the vehicle door, located above the stationary hinge strap. This allows the door to be removed from the vehicle for manufacturing and maintenance by removing a retaining bolt, which disassembles the hinge pin from one of the straps, and lifting the door. U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,558 discloses a single-hung hinge which has a hinge pin shaped so that it is non rotatable relative to one of the hinge straps and allows the hinge strap and door to be reinstalled on the hinge pin and returned to their originally adjusted position. The hinge assembly must be properly aligned initially in the vehicle.
It is also known that hinge assemblies work with the greatest ease and least wear when the axis of rotation of the hinge assemblies are aligned in a single axis.
It is also recognized that slight variations in the body structure from the desired or proper plane as the result of build variations might make it more difficult to align the axis of the hinge assemblies in a single axis. It would be desirable to have a single-hung hinge assembly which provides for variance in the orientation of the hinge pin relative to one of the hinge straps thereby allowing the hinge pin to be aligned with the other hinge strap and the axis of rotation of the hinge assembly.